Thread:

Ever wonder where you are going?

Originally Posted by Cigalert

That fog can get really thick around Dana. We had an aircraft carrier come within 1/4 mile while we were down on the deck fishing, look up and theres the business end of a massive ship. The wake from those things makes the casino boats look like bath tub toys.

I used to drive those 1,000 foot long things out there.... we'd get these little toy boats, we called them "cigarette boats", that would get too close and didn't seem to have a clue that we'd run right over them and may not even scratch the paint. It takes about 8 miles to turn a carrier, and a mile to stop it. More than once we have had a cigarette go under the flight deck (you can't see the bow at all from the bridge) and we'd just have to wait for the sound of the crash, if there was going to be one.

Depending upon the threat level, a fast mover "cigarette boat" that is on a collision course and doesn't identify itself on VHF Ch 16 could be fired upon, as well, even in US waters. Just a heads up

We actually ran over a sailboat in San Diego harbor once. He took us to court. He figured that being a sailboat gave him right of way, even though we were restricted in our ability to manuever. The judge awarded him a $700 judgement to pay us for the paint he scratched off the ship.